Big Changes Coming To Kristi Linauer Interiors

Last Updated on February 12, 2019 by Kristi Linauer

(This is one of those rare, pictureless posts, and it’s really long, but I hope you find it interesting!)

When I woke up this morning, I thought I had nothing to share with you today, and then I realized…

Granted, this may not be as exciting for you as it is for me, but I’m absolutely giddy about this. There are big changes coming to Kristi Linauer Interiors!! (For those of you who are first-time visitors, I’m Kristi Linauer, and I own an interior decorating business in Waco, Texas, called Kristi Linauer Interiors. That’s the “day job”.) 🙂

So first, let me explain why I felt some changes were needed…

I started my business about five years ago. I did so because I absolutely love interior decorating. It’s a gift…a talent (which I feel confident saying, because each of us has our strengths and weaknesses…this is my strength).

But I also love doing the work. I enjoy getting my hands dirty, using power tools, painting, sanding, trying new projects…

You get the point.

But somehow over the years, I’ve gotten away from the very things I love.

If a room needs painting, or a wall needs a decorative treatment…

If wallpaper needs to be installed…

If cabinets needs to be painted…

If window treatments needed to be made…

On the occasions that I did make the window treatments myself, which I absolutely love to do, I would feel embarrassed telling a client that I made them myself, thinking to myself that as a “professional interior decorator”, I had to uphold some sort of image where I have “people” who do all of the menial work for me.

Don’t get me wrong…

I felt like others would view the work as menial. I felt like they would somehow look at me differently if they envisioned me sitting in my tiny little condo with my cheap little Singer Kenmore sewing machine making their draperies.

I felt like as a “professional interior decorator”, I was somehow obligated to reach higher, to aspire to working with the really wealthy homeowners who had thousands and thousands of dollars to spend on one room, and who certainly wouldn’t want their interior decorator showing up to their house wearing work clothes covered in dried paint, toting a ladder, paint brush, and paint roller.

But as I aspired to those things, I felt as though I was sacrificing a little bit of myself–of who I truly am–in order to fill some mold that I thought had been cast for me based on what is expected from a “professional interior decorator.”

Well, over the years, as I worked myself more and more out of the very things I truly enjoyed doing, I became increasingly disenchanted with “the business”. It became drudgery to me, and it certainly wasn’t fun anymore. It had become a means to an end…just a way to make money.

For me, it had become the equivalent of an artist having a vision for a masterpiece, and then handing over his paintbrushes and canvas to another person to execute the vision in his head. Talk about unsatisfying!!

But I noticed something…

The times that I felt the most exhilarated…

…were on the evenings and weekends when I was working on my own little condo, doing the painting, the tiling, the sanding, the staining, the sewing.

So a couple of months ago, I started brainstorming.

How in the world could I bring this same excitement to my everyday work?

Enter Gwen…

A couple of months ago, I started working with Gwen on her bedroom and bathroom. When Gwen first contacted me, I initially thought she would be a regular ‘ole client. I would give her my design input, she would pay me hourly for my time, and any work that needed to be done would be hired out.

But…Gwen and her husband are friends with my parents, so I felt a little more comfortable with her than I would with a stranger. And in looking at the work that needed to be done, I longed to do the work myself.

So, I approached Gwen with an idea…I wanted to completely decorate her bedroom and bathroom myself, doing all of the work with my own two hands, and hiring out only those things that I know I couldn’t (or shouldn’t) do myself, like electrical work.

She was thrilled with the idea, and I got started. Every moment of working on her rooms has been fun, exciting, and invigorating to me. I’ve worked harder (physically) on Gwen’s projects than I have on all of my other clients combined.

I’m exhausted…

…I’m sunburned…

…I can never seem to get all of the paint off of my hands…

…I go to bed at night with my back aching.

But you know what?

…because those things pale in comparison to the fact that I FEEL ALIVE again!!

I love the work I’m doing. I’m so happy…so excited…so giddy…that it brings tears to my eyes. I want to whoop and holler and dance a little jig. And I feel like I have clarity now…vision for the future of my business.

So what does that mean for Kristi Linauer Interiors?

Beginning immediately, I will start phasing out my hourly clients. And beginning in the fall, I will offer one service only, called The 14-Day Room.

It’s exactly what it sounds like.

I will work with one client at a time, one room at a time, and transform a room for one flat fee. Over the course of 14 days, I will completely decorate the room, doing all of the work myself.

Now because it’s 14 days, and because I’m not a contractor, obviously that means I will no longer accept work on remodels. These will be decorating projects only…rooms that need cosmetic changes.

Over the course of the 14 days…

And you know what’s exciting? I already have clients!!!

About the time all of the was formulating in my head, Alice and John contacted me about my decorating services. They had just purchased a home that needed updating and decorating throughout.

Honestly, I wasn’t very excited about the idea of starting on this project initially, simply because in my mind, a whole house redesign would interfere with my vision of re-creating my business over the summer.

Then it came to me…why would I have to delay?

So after much prayer and wrestling with the idea (because it’s never easy to jump in with both feet with a brand new, business-changing, risky idea), I pitched the idea to them, and they were intrigued. Now, a couple of weeks later, after meeting with them twice, sharing some ideas with them, and shopping for flooring for the house, I think it’s pretty safe to say that we’re all incredibly excited about this new venture.

So in a week or so, I’ll be starting on their house…and jumping in with both feet into a new, exciting chapter for Kristi Linauer Interiors. I will be working on their entire house…nine rooms…one room at a time, beginning with the master bedroom.

So what does this mean for Addicted 2 Decorating, and you, my awesome readers!?

That’s it in a nutshell. I’ll have more projects, more DIY, more rooms, more ideas to share…

Kristi Linauer

Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.

I hope you’ll join me on my DIY and decorating journey! If you want to follow my projects and progress, you can subscribe below and have each new post delivered to your email inbox. That way you’ll never miss a thing!